seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Isaiah 19:1 A prophecy against Egypt:
See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.
2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
brother will fight against brother,
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.
3 The Egyptians will lose heart,
and I will bring their plans to nothing;
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
brother will fight against brother,
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.
3 The Egyptians will lose heart,
and I will bring their plans to nothing;
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
5 The waters of the river will dry up,
and the riverbed will be parched and dry.
6 The canals will stink;
the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.
The reeds and rushes will wither,
7 also the plants along the Nile,
at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field along the Nile
will become parched, will blow away and be no more.
8 The fishermen will groan and lament,
all who cast hooks into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
will pine away.
9 Those who work with combed flax will despair,
the weavers of fine linen will lose hope.
10 The workers in cloth will be dejected,
and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
and the riverbed will be parched and dry.
6 The canals will stink;
the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.
The reeds and rushes will wither,
7 also the plants along the Nile,
at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field along the Nile
will become parched, will blow away and be no more.
8 The fishermen will groan and lament,
all who cast hooks into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
will pine away.
9 Those who work with combed flax will despair,
the weavers of fine linen will lose hope.
10 The workers in cloth will be dejected,
and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools;
the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise men,
a disciple of the ancient kings”?
the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise men,
a disciple of the ancient kings”?
12 Where are your wise men now?
Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
has planned against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan have become fools,
the leaders of Memphis are deceived;
the cornerstones of her peoples
have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has poured into them
a spirit of dizziness;
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do—
head or tail, palm branch or reed.
Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
has planned against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan have become fools,
the leaders of Memphis are deceived;
the cornerstones of her peoples
have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has poured into them
a spirit of dizziness;
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do—
head or tail, palm branch or reed.
16 In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the Lord Almighty is planning against them.
18 In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.[a]
19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the LordAlmighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worshiptogether. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing[b] on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”
a. Isaiah 19:18 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Symmachus and Vulgate; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text City of Destruction
b. Isaiah 19:24 Or Assyria, whose names will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or Assyria, who will be seen by others as blessed
This is from the easy English site.
‘Riding on a cloud’ describes the power of God, who controls storms (see Psalm 18:10-15). As clouds race across the sky in a storm, so God is racing to rescue his people. That was also David’s experience (see Psalm 18:16-19).
God is causing these quarrels to happen. He will greatly upset all kinds of relations. So the Egyptians will be even less able to oppose any attack by an enemy.
Because of the Lord’s immense power, false gods and people alike are unable to do anything. To expect idols or dead persons to tell them what to do is hopeless. In any case, God has forbidden such activity.
The Nile has always been vital for the inhabitants of Egypt. The river provides food and trade. Boats carry passengers and goods up and down the river.
- Winter rains flow into the Nile from the high hills of central Africa. Summer rains flow into the Nile from the high hills of Ethiopia. All this water causes the Nile to flood large areas of Egypt regularly. The floods leave behind good soil on the plains for farmers to use.
- But if the waters fail for some reason, the people in Egypt are soon in very serious trouble.
As the level of the water drops, plants die. The wind carries away not only the dead plants but also the valuable soil, which is now dry dust.
The previous verses described God’s control over nature. Now he shows his control over people, over even the most important officials. They may think that they have political power. But God still carries out his purpose.
Memphis was the capital of Egypt before Zoan.
The people in Egypt will even be afraid to hear the name ‘Judah’. That name will remind the people in Egypt about Judah’s all-powerful God.
These last verses of Chapter 19 look ahead to some time still in the future.
The five cities probably include Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis and Pathros, where Jews were living (see Jeremiah 44:1). These four cities were near the border with Judah. The ‘City of the Sun’ is a translation of the name of the city called Heliopolis.
The *worship of the Lord in Egypt will be public and official.
Again Isaiah is emphasising that international events are under God’s control. The benefit will come from the Lord, but by means of these three nations.
I was watching a man who was make some kind of a speech. There were hundreds and hundreds of people there..... and the man was saying such horrible things.... he was pointing out people... and discussing some horrible things [mostly imaginary] that these people probably didn't do.... but the people listening.... they thought everything this guy said was as true as gospel.One of the last times I was in a brick and mortar church, the preacher told the congregation three times that he hated them. He hated them for this.... he hated them for that.... and the hated them for a third thing.... he actually used the words "I hate you all"...... I waited for him to finish his sermon and take all the hate back.... but he didn't.... he finished the sermon.... abruptly. I went up to him after the service.... I asked him why he would say such hateful things to us..... and he said "it isn't hateful if it's true" and then he denied even using the word hate in his sermon. [No I don't fall asleep in church].
Egypt has a lot of little gods. Even the pharaoh was considered a god..... a human on a throne..... they figured he had to be god. There was a lot of magic in Egypt.... Aaron threw down his staff in front of pharaoh and it turned into a serpent.... then the magicians, faithful to pharaoh, threw their staffs down and they became serpents too. [Exodus 7:8-13]
Now I ask myself.... am I really reading that the Nile is going to dry up???? Well.... it's actually happening. Here's a video.....
People are lying to our faces and we don't even flinch..... preachers teach hate from the pulpit and we nod along like lemmings.... the rivers of the world are drying up..... and we discuss it as a political problem. Then again.... fighting over water rights would bring on a civil war.... right?
